trail clearing technique and tools

[ArlyA]

With moderate weather here we are heading out of town tonight and be camping at Bob Lake which is a NFS campground. There is a little trail there we care for so we'll be hitting it with .155 stings and clearing any dead-falls we fine. Easy job. I'll get photos, but the last time we camped, our cameras memory card failed. Hope everyone has as nice a weekend as we plan to have!

 

[Mudfarmer]

I use a 12 inch mulching blade on my Stihl FS91 handlebar brush cutter. It may spark if you hit a rock, but keeps on working. I use it on blackberry bushes, salmon berry and saplings up to an inch. has the advantage of chopping everything to smithereens so I don't have to pick up after myself.

 

[ning]

I use a 12 inch mulching blade on my Stihl FS91 handlebar brush cutter. It may spark if you hit a rock, but keeps on working. I use it on blackberry bushes, salmon berry and saplings up to an inch. has the advantage of chopping everything to smithereens so I don't have to pick up after myself.View attachment 707665

I could see using this maybe two or three months out of the year, mostly on oak saplings; the rest of the year it would cause a massive conflagration around here. In the wintertime, I pull blackberries out of the ground so they don't grow back.

 

[ArlyA]

We got back from a weekend of wonderful camping and clearing trails at 2 NFS campgrounds. We had coolish weather which prompted us out.

In this shot, you can see maple whips on both sides will soon be overtaking this trail. They are nearly three feet tall.

I've started to cut them. The .155 string did better on them that I expected and I did not need to change the strings out.

All done! You can see the whip debris everywhere. This is where large string machines rock!

 

[ArlyA]

More trail clearing with 155 string. In the background you can see steps already cleared. Of course the pole-saw will be used to remove this dead fall.

Here is a boardwalk covered with ferns and swamp grass. There is a creek at its middle.

Now we're clearing it.

 

[airbiscuit]

So, does the dog know when you are about to head out?

 

[Torvy]

I work like to try one of these blades to cut the shoots down as seen in the above photos. Might be better in the gravel and rocks we work in. Has anyone used these?View attachment 699901

I've used something similar with plastic blades. I prefer it to string. Swapping blades is easier than dealing with string problems.. Cheap knockoffs break too easy, so stick to known brands.

 

[ArlyA]

I've used something similar with plastic blades. I prefer it to string. Swapping blades is easier than dealing with string problems.. Cheap knockoffs break too easy, so stick to known brands.

We can replace 4 strings in less than 60 seconds. Plastic cutting blades would last us about 60 seconds.

 

[ArlyA]

So, does the dog know when you are about to head out?

No, but when dogs get tired, they'll sit by the truck.

 

[airbiscuit]

I meant, do the dogs get excited when you are heading out TO the trails?